If you follow me on Instagram, you have saw what travels I got up too today on a random Sunday drive. Hint, it included discovering this Flea market pictured above, in my the backyard of my hometown that I’ve drove by a million times. Found some pretty cute antique pieces too #ExploreYourOwnBackyard

Also on our Sunday drive, we stopped in at this amazingly cute and homey coffee shop in Warkworth, ON, Our Lucky Stars. Definitely coming back for another cup of coffee soon, so glad we stopped in!

As a women who loves and works in politics, if you are in and around the Guelph area and want to attend a campaign school for those interested in politics, check out this event being offered at City Hall.

I recently had a salad that had a beautiful looking veggie in it that I had no clue what it was. How did I not know before now, what a watermelon radish was? #facepalm Perfectly summed up, “If Cinderella were a vegetable, she’d be a watermelon radish.”

This dreamy backyard porch oasis has me dreamin’ of warmer, sunnier temps where I can be blogging from my backyard. #SpringSoonPlease?

I already had enough reasons to love the stationery line, Rifle Paper Co, but now I see why the stationery is so brilliant, after seeing this home tour of the mastermind behind the brand.

On a day like today, where we celebrate #BellLetsTalk day, it’s one day of the year where we are reminded to share both the good and bad around mental health.

Today is dedicated to sharing our stories, so we’re not alone in the struggles we almost all face daily in keeping a healthy mental health. If we looked at mental health the way we looked at physical health, our world would certainly be a different place.

I wanted to share a story from last week in hopes that today, we can be reminded of the good.. the good stories, good moments, and good human beings that are out there, who help contribute positively to our mental health and well-being.

Two small moments last week that took place in my local Balzacs coffee shop reminded me of just how powerful small gestures can be in leaving a lasting impact… by complete strangers.

When I entered the coffee shop, I wasn’t surprised to see the place was packed.. buzzing with people meeting, writing, studying, reflecting. A mom in front of me in line had, what appeared to be a newborn baby and a young toddler.. and here, there were no tables or seats available for this busy mom to sit down and enjoy her coffee with her fam.

What happened next was a small yet subtle reminder that good people DO still exist. A man kindly stood up and offered to give up his table for the young mom. Thank god, good people really do exist. As a new mom who finds one baby a lot to handle, I was so appreciative for this man and his kind gesture for the mom who had her two hands full.

The second moment in the coffee shop was personal for me – one of the most random yet most powerful moments. A middle aged woman happened to come over to my table as I typed away (I was probably working on the ol’ blog!) and said how she didn’t want to appear weird but that she had noticed my smile, how infectious it was and how it lit up the room when I walked into the coffee shop.

What?

I didn’t know this lady. Hadn’t noticed her in the coffee shop. Nor had I even realized I was smiling?! Maybe I was smiling while I was writing and I didn’t even realize it?! I’ll never know. I kindly thanked the lady and said how wonderful it was of her to come over and share something like that with me, as I blushed.

As she left, a wave of emotion came over me (it could be this new-found emotion that has come over me ever since having a baby, not quite sure?!) but I was reminded of just how amazing moments like that can completely transform your day. Just how amazing human beings can be and are.

How complete strangers can remind you of your most random qualities; how a random stranger can transform your mood in an instant; how a small moment or gesture like this can make you feel so connected to a complete stranger; and how your heart can feel so full over something that seems so trivial and small yet something that can be so powerful.

How a complete stranger can remind you, that despite all the negativity that appears to be going on in the world, good and positivity always prevails.

To the man who gave up his table and the lady whose compliment has etched a mark in my heart forever, thank you.Thank you for helping people you didn’t have too. Whose day you transformed. Whose mental health you helped without realizing.

What I hope to do on a day like today is pay it forward. While discussing mental health today, let’s share everything – the good, the bad, the ugly – but let’s also try and share the positive. Because that is just one of the many ways we can help contribute to this all so important conversation around mental health.

While we’re 14 days into 2017, I couldn’t look back on 2016 more fondly as a year that I considered ‘the best year yet.’

Until this year….. more to come on that so read on!

I made a commitment last year to make 2016 ‘different’ in everything I did – personal, professional, my business, my hobbies AND my attitude. One of those differences that inevitably fell into my lap was embracing firsts, something I may not have been so open too in the past.

Embracing ‘firsts’ teaches you so much about yourself – what your capcity is for courage, strength, spontaneity, adventure, experiencing news things that you’re not use too or comfortable with and just how open you (and your attitude) are to welcoming firsts, in the first place!

I really tried to continue living by the motto I shared back in my 2015 Year in Review, “Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone.” Some firsts last year weren’t easy, but man did they feel good after they were done, knowing I had set my mind to doing them!

To reflect on what some of those ‘firsts’ were for me and others close to me, I thought I would highlight some of the memorable ‘firsts’ from last year (there were surely more but not enough time to capture everything!):

Flew in a helicopter, experiencing the beautiful fall scenery of the Muskokas

Saw my mom featured on the cover of a national dairy magazine, The Progressive Dairyman (way to go, mom!)

Experienced many amazing new firsts at work as a Press Secretary, I feel so fortunate to do what I do in the industry I love

Saw the Northern Lights for the first time while visiting Manitoba last summer

….. and the best “first” of 2016… Andrew and I found out we’re expecting a baby in 2017!

What I thought was the best year yet in 2016 is certainly going to be topped this year with the incredible gift that Andrew and I have been blessed with.

To be given the the gift of parenthood is going to be by far the greatest thing we’ve ever done come May, 2017 and we couldn’t be more ready (despite doing this ‘thing’ called parenthood for the first time!).

Let the countdown begin for the BEST ‘FIRST’ EVER coming up in 2017! 🙂

I am about the begin a week of vacation in Manitoba later this week with Andrew and the in-laws, but first.. wanted to share a thought from the weekend.

Have you ever been driving down a road that you’ve traveled many times before and noticed something new? Maybe this is the same road you take to work, twice a day or a back road in the country that you’ve traveled many times before but you haven’t noticed certain details until now? After driving down a road in the country near my family’s farm on the weekend, I had this exact same thing happen to me….

It dawned on me after this happened that perhaps we miss the ‘details’ because we spend so much time looking straight ahead, focused on the destination, rather than about the journey along the way.

With the busyness of my day job and my side job and all the simple demands of life – family, friends, social events, hobbies, volunteering and board involvement, my dad’s cancer treatment – it dawned on me once I had time to stop and rest at Christmas that I had taken no time last year to stop and enjoy the scenery along the way.

It was a reminder that while its healthy to have ambitions, goals, dreams and big ideas, we need to ensure we take the time to stop and process what we’re working on; what we’re enjoying (or not enjoying); and take the time to check in with ourselves that we’re OK with where we’re heading.

This photo was taken last summer just up the road from my family’s farm.. a road I’ve traveled so many times before.. but there is a new found appreciation every time I travel down this road that I didn’t have before. I have a new found appreciation for the simple details that I didn’t have last year and I have 2016 to thank for being one of the best years yet!

Enjoy the scenery friends, its the small stuff along the way that makes the destination so worthwhile in the end.